Few inventions have so altered society as the telephone. With the words, "Watson, come quickly, I need you," Alexander Graham Bell revolutionized the world of communications. From the old-fashioned "horn" box to the rotary dial to the touch-tone, the telephone has vastly broadened the scope of communications.
While remote or cordless phones have become increasingly popular, the majurity of telephones in use today have plastic-coated, coiled cords stemming between the telephone base and handset. Accordingly, a problem associated with the modern-day telephone is the annoying tangling of the telephone cord caused, for example, by users who fidget or twist and turn or who pace during their telephone conversations. This is especially problematic when using a 9-or 25-foot cord, which is stretched and, upon release of tension on the cord, has a natural tendency to twist or tangle. Moreover, the plastic material used to coat telephone cords is a pliable material which tends to twist and tangle due to changes in atmospheric conditions.
One proposed solution to this problem can be found in the cord supporting coil of U.S Pat. No. 2,795,461 to Rowell, in which a length of formed resilient material includes a flexible metallic insert molded therein with a cord-receiving slot. The handset cord is inserted in the cord supporting coil by opening the slot leading into the cord supporting coil and winding the handset cord in until the entire handset cord is housed completely within the spiral cord supporting coil. This patent merely reinforces the original coil structure of the handset cord and, over time, will result in similar problems to that of a regular handset cord.